Chamber Made
by LanieSullivan
Summary: This is a response to a challenge issued a while back by Whitefeather1965 to change one thing in an episode that changes the course of the episode and potentially the rest of the series. For mine I went with using the unfilmed scene from the script of "A Lovely Little Affair" with Amanda in Alan's hotel room and ask the question, "what if she didn't leave?"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

A/N: This is a response to a challenge issue a while back by Whitefeather1965 to change one thing in an episode that changes the course of the episode and potentially the rest of the series. For mine I went with using the un-filmed scene from the script of "A Lovely Little Affair" with Amanda in Alan's hotel room and ask the question, "what if she didn't leave?" NOTE: Assumes the first five episodes of Season 3 are in order as follows: Welcome to America, Mr. Brand

Over the Limit

Tail of the Dancing Weasel

We're Off to See the Wizard

A Lovely Little Affair

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Amanda ran into Lee in the bullpen and stammered awkwardly," Oh. Hi...I...uh...I came by to drop the film off."

He smiled at her. "Amanda, I was just going to call you. About dinner. Are we still on?"

She shifted nervously and questioned, "Did we have a date? Gee, I've made plans. Business plans. Maybe tomorrow. Got to run. See you." She exited the bullpen quickly with Francine a step behind her.

While waiting for the elevator, Francine asked her, "How's life in the fast lane Amanda?"

Amanda paused for a beat before answering, "Interesting."

"Interesting," Francine repeated with an arched eyebrow. "Amanda, Alan Chamberlain is a delicious hunk of masculinity who personifies the very soul of the Italian art experience! You might as well call fettuccine Alfredo, 'yummy." Francine started to leave, but was stopped by Amanda's voice behind her.

"Francine, if you're through correcting my grammar, I do have a serious question."

Francine turned. "Professional?"

"Personal, too." Amanda bit down on her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. "What do you do when you're on a case and you're not sure where the case ends and your own life begins?"

Francine looked at Amanda, a little surprised. "Go with the flow." Realization then dawned on her as she got Amanda's meaning. "You and Alan...? Amanda!"

"It's nothing ... yet. It's just confusing. I didn't plan any of this...we just sort of met, totally by accident..." She paused again and took a deep breath. "Anyway, he asked me to dinner."

"You don't need my advice," Francine replied with a wave of her hand.

"It's all part of my cover. It might have looked funny to refuse."

Francine nodded and gave her a serious look. 'It's a judgment call. You probably did the right thing, but be careful. Don't get in the water if you don't know how to swim."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I know all about swimming."

"Not in this end of the pool..."

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That night in Alan Chamberlain's hotel room which is a lovely suite, including a desk crowded with stationery and a small briefcase that's sitting open. Its contents consist of several small vials of colored ink, a sketch pad, and a full set of ink pens used in calligraphy lettering. A small sunlamp, is clamped to the side of the desk. Chamberlain and Amanda enter the room. She's not sure she's made the right decision coming this far, and her nervousness nearly betrays her. Chamberlain comes up behind and tries to slip his arms around her body, but she quickly manages to elude him and moves to the desk.

"What is all this used for?" she asked trying to sound genuinely interested.

"My work," He answered. "The pens are specially designed for calligraphy."

"Like the writing on the card you sent with my corsage?" She asked with a warm smile as she glanced down at it.

"Exactly." He stood behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders and began to nuzzle her earlobe.

Trying not to be averted, Amanda queried, "And the colored ink?"

"Some of the older manuscripts were written in different shades. He released Amanda, went to the desk and carefully closed the briefcase. "Amanda, I didn't bring you here to see my etchings. And I don't think that's why you came." He kissed her once, then again. As he became more involved, Amanda's became more uncomfortable. She broke the kiss and turned away.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"No, no, don't be. It's just that..." _Just that what, Amanda?_ she asked herself.

"Is there someone else?' She turned to him as she thought, _such a good question._ She thought back to that afternoon when she couldn't get a straight answer from Lee as to whether their dinner plans were a date or not and with her decision made, she stepped back into Alan's embrace, this time returning his kisses with equal fervor. She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders and allowed him to pull her closer, letting out a long, slow sigh as his sweet, sensual kisses began to stir something in her that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Pulling back from the kiss for a moment, she looked into his eyes and what she saw in them killed any last inkling of hesitation, the desire, longing and what she had seen too often lately when she looked in the mirror...desperate loneliness. Tugging on his lapels, she urged him toward the bed with her. Once there, she stepped out of her shoes and reached for him again, saying his name softly, "Alan."

Sliding his hands to her waist and searching her eyes for any sign of hesitation, he questioned, "Amanda, are you sure?"

She wrapped her arms around him and nodded. "I'm sure," she replied as she pulled on his neck to bring him in for another kiss and they tumbled to the bed together.

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Much later that night, Amanda shifted nervously in her own bed while Lee questioned her about what had happened with Alan and she gave him the "textbook" answer.

Lee gazed at her curiously as if not quite certain that she was telling the whole truth. Her answer seemed just too...rehearsed. Placing his hands on his hips in his interrogator mode, he responded, "Hmm...anything unusual happen?"

Unconsciously, Amanda ran her fingers along her lips as she reflected back on the heated kisses she'd shared with Alan just hours before, and how he'd pleaded with her to stay, but she'd reminded him that she was expected back, however, had promised to meet him for breakfast. Her whole body gave an involuntary shudder as the memories of how the rest of the night had gone washed over her. "No, nothing worth mentioning," she answered, hoping that Lee had not seen her visible reaction to his question the way she knew she would see through him in an instant. In the next moment, she was sure he had when he told her to have nothing more to do with Alan and thought that maybe...just maybe Lee was finally ready to own up to his real feelings about her, but then her heart sank as he started showing the surveillance photos she'd taken of Alan. _It's about the damn job again,_ she thought in disgust, but then a wave of guilt came crashing over her. She'd only approached Alan because of the job, so she was just as guilty as Lee, wasn't she? And wasn't there some part of her tonight who'd been with Alan just to prove that she was still a live, flesh-and-blood woman with needs and desires of her own; needs that were currently not being met.

After arguing back and forth for a moment, Lee finally conceded and agreed to allow Amanda to continue with her breakfast meeting with Chamberlain, but what he couldn't quite figure out was her behavior. Why was she defending him? Why was she acting so nervous? When he'd reached to shake her hand, she'd become even more so and had hurriedly covered her throat and tugged on her nightgown, then had hustled him back out her bedroom window. What was going on with her?

After Lee had left, Amanda had slipped into her bathroom and let out a deep sigh of relief as she snapped on the light. She tugged aside the collar of her nightgown and grimaced at the love bite left behind from her time spent in Alan's passionate embrace. Had Lee seen it, she knew that he'd never have allowed her to complete her assignment and the job was important to her. The Agency was finally beginning to treat her with some respect; she was finally being allowed to work a bit on her own, not just under Lee's shadow and it felt good.

 _But is that really all it is,_ she asked herself. She had to admit that she did like Alan and while her attraction to him wasn't the fiery, electric one that she had with Lee, there was definitely a spark there. More importantly, HE was acting on it, where Lee was not, but now she felt incredibly guilty because she wasn't being honest with him. He didn't even know who she really was. Shaking her head, she snapped off the light in disgust, then flung herself back into her bed, her tortured thoughts keeping her awake the rest of the night.

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The next day, after Necci had been apprehended and Amanda had been given a moment alone with Alan, his first response was a raised eyebrow and a questioning, "Tourist?"

"No, I'm not," she confessed guiltily. "I'm sorry, Alan. I didn't mean to trick you." She blinked back tears that had begun to form in her eyes and continued, "I think you're very special and you made me feel very special too."

"You _are_ very special, Amanda," Alan replied softly.

His kind words only made Amanda feel worse so she felt the need to reiterate her thoughts, "I really didn't mean to trick you, you understand?"

He nodded. "I understand." He approached her slowly, placing his hands on her shoulder and repeated, "I understand," as he tenderly brushed his lips against hers. In that moment both knew this was a goodbye kiss. "Ciao, Amanda." He released her, then walked away leaving her staring sadly after him.

An hour later Amanda exited the observation room and entered the adjoining interrogation room after Alan and his sister had been properly questioned.

Upon seeing her, Francine crowed with a smirk, "Well, congratulations, Amanda. It seems you're finally one of us."

"I beg your pardon?" Amanda questioned staring at her blankly.

"It's no wonder you didn't want to take part in his debriefing," Francine added with a grin. "You've already debriefed him."

"Francine, what the hell are you talking about," Lee asked obtusely.

"Oh, come on, Lee, it's obvious from the way he talked about her and the way he was looking at her before we even brought him in that Amanda took the term 'undercover' quite literally." She then turned to Amanda, patted her on the shoulder, nodded and said, "Glad you decided to take my advice.

"What advice?" Lee's jaw tensed as he glanced from Amanda to Francine and back again, unable to believe what he was hearing, but at seeing the guilty look on Amanda's face, he knew in that moment that it was true.

"I-I-" Amanda stammered.

"Oh, Amanda was just concerned with how far she should take things with Alan," Francine chimed in when Amanda seemed lost for an answer.

Finding her voice, Amanda cut in sternly, "Francine, I can handle this."

"So what are you upset about? You're done that kind of thing many times. So have I. What's the big deal? it's only sex."

"Francine, I said, I can handle this," Amanda stated more vehemently.

"YOU told her to do this?" Lee questioned hotly giving Francine a murderous look.

"Nobody TOLD me to do anything. I'm an adult!" Amanda snapped, getting perturbed that the pair were treating her as if she were invisible. "I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions!"

"Oh, is that right? Well, you made a winner of a decision on this one!" He shook his head as it began to hit him just how many of the signs he'd missed. When he'd been in Amanda's room last night...how she'd shied away from his touch and had tried to cover herself up as if she were trying to hide from him. How she'd acted nervous earlier today when they'd been in Chamberlain's room and had kept stealing glances at the bed. It was no wonder when she'd- He cringed at the thought of what she'd done in that bed with him.

Now, he was also remembering digging through Chamberlain's trash and having spotted a condom wrapper, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time because it wasn't relevant to the case and a world traveler like him was bound to have a girl in every port like a sailor. Now though...a wave of revulsion swept over him as he thought of _his_ Amanda being one of those girls. _But is she still yours,_ a morose voice in his head taunted him. _Was she ever yours to begin with?_ _Do you even still want her to be now that you know the truth about her?_

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Francine snapped, also snapping Lee out of his thoughts. "You're acting more like a jealous lover than her partner!" At seeing the sheepish looks on both their faces, a look of triumph crossed hers. "So, you two are-"

Lee and Amanda simultaneously shouted, "NO!" and Amanda made a hasty escape before it could escalate any further.

Francine at seeing Lee staring forlornly after Amanda, a combination of anger and kicked-puppy look on his face, she put in, "So, that's it! You're mad that he got a home run and you're still stranded on second base, aren't you?"

"We've never even gotten to second base," he responded quietly.

Francine grinned. "Hmm. She's got more brains that I thought then."

Lee whipped around to face her with a loud, "Hey!"

Still grinning Francine countered, "Maybe you're just losing your touch," then sauntered off and Lee stormed out of the room and barreled out of the agency not stopping to talk to anyone on his way out.


	2. Chapter 2

After Lee had left, Francine found Amanda at her desk in the bullpen typing furiously, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from her seat, saying, "Come on, let's go."

"Francine, I have to get this report done," Amanda protested as she tried to return to her desk.

"The report will wait. It's not due until Monday and you need a break, not to mention a drink or two." When Amanda tried to argue again, Francine tightened her grip on her arm. "Don't even try it. We are getting out of here; I already told Billy we're leaving and called your house to tell your mother you're working late, so just grab your purse and let's go."

Amanda nodded and acquiesced, realizing that she really did need a break and someone to talk to. "Where are we going?" she asked as she and Francine exited the bullpen together.

"I thought we'd just walk down the street to Ned's, have a drink or two, let you blow off some steam and if you need to talk-"

"Thanks," Amanda replied as they stepped into the elevator.

Twenty minutes later, seated in a corner booth away from prying eyes each with a cocktail in front of them, Amanda let out a deep sigh as she took a swig of her drink and said falteringly, "I wish I knew where to go from here."

Francine in her "I-told-you-so" tone replied, "Don't you remember telling me not to get in the water if you don't know how to swim?"

Amanda responded testily, "I know how to swim, Francine." She rolled her eyes and slammed her glass down. "Trust me, Alan didn't have a single complaint."

Francine held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, that may be so; I'm just wondering now if you should have stayed out of the deep end of the pool."

A moment of silence passed between the pair as they quietly sipped at their drinks and Francine gestured to the waitress to keep them coming.

Licking her lips nervously, Amanda asked, "What do you do when you feel like you're drowning but there's no lifeguard on duty?"

Pondering her question seriously, Francine answered, "That's when you let yourself sink to the bottom of the pool-"

Amanda interrupted her in a miserable tone, "I'm already at the bottom..."

"Well, then, you've got it easy. Once you're at the bottom, there's no lower you can go..Now that you've got your feet firmly on the bottom, you use all the strength you've got to push yourself back up again."

Draining her glass and reaching for the second one that the waitress had just brought, Amanda nodded. "The problem is that I'm not the only one on the bottom. I'm being held down by someone else. Hard to push yourself up that way."

"This sounds like guilt. Maybe you should talk to Pfaff or somebody if you're not sure you can handle it."

"Oh, I can handle it fine, but...but I'm not sure Lee can. He was so...so angry."

Francine scoffed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Please! it's not like he's never been there before."

"Did you see that way he looked at me?" Amanda swallowed hard and blinked back the tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I did. I also saw the way he looked at Chamberlain before we ever got back to the agency, before he even knew you that you'd slept with him; like he wanted to rip him apart with his bare hands for daring to touch you. Let me tell you something, both of those looks are not the looks of a worried partner, those are the kind of looks you see from a jealous lover."

Amanda protested, "B-but- We're not lovers...we're not-not involved. I mean, not really."

Francine laughed. "Well, he doesn't seem to know that." She paused for a moment and then turned serious again. "If you really want my advice, go talk to him, clear the air between you, make it clear what you want from him; no beating around the bush. That's the only way to get anything through his thick head. Trust me, I know." She let out a deep sigh before continuing and then added, "If he can't give you what you want, walk away and stop wasting your time because with the way he was acting today, if he's not ready now, he never will be."

An hour and another pair of drinks later, Amanda stood outside Lee's apartment door trying to summon up the courage to knock. _Just do it,_ she told herself. There was no other alternative since her car was still at the office and she'd taken a cab from the bar. Taking a deep breath, she rapped loudly on the door and waited, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach as she tried to anticipate what his reaction would be.

When the door was opened, Lee took in her appearance, her slightly unsteady stance and barked, "You didn't drive here in your condition, did you?"

Amanda nodded to the bottle of scotch in his hand. "Look who's talking!"

"But I'm not planning on going anywhere!" he retorted hotly. He looked her up and down. "So, where have you been, out trolling for your next mark?"

"We really should talk about this," she answered softly as she tried to ignore his cutting remark.

"I don't know what there is left to talk about. You made your choice."

Amanda snorted, "Well, You were the one who told me to get close to him."

"I never said THAT close. but like Francine said, it's all a part of the job, right? You did your job." He turned away from her for a moment, but then whipped around angrily. "Except that's not part of the job YOU should be involved in."

"Oh and I supposed you've never done it?"

"That's different-" He argued.

"Or never encouraged Francine to do it?"

"Also different."

"How? How is it different? I'm single."

"You're sin-? At her words, he got even angrier. How was she considering herself single when they were- He shook his head, not willing to let the hurt show and changed tactics. "You're a mother for God's sake! What kind of example are you setting for your children?"

"Yes, I AM a mother and the fact that I am should tell you that I'm not some dewy-eyed schoolgirl."

"I get it. I've been there. Now, are we done?" He started to close the door, but she stopped him, pushed her way into his apartment and slammed the door behind her.

"No, we are NOT done! It's like Francine said at the office, you're acting like a jealous lover!"

"Don't I have a right to! I mean, damn it, Amanda!" He slammed the bottle in his hand down on the coffee table as she approached him pushing him further into the living room. "I broke up with my girlfriend for you! I thought we were- You know what? Never mind! It doesn't matter!" Turning away from her, he picked the bottle up again and moved to put it back on the bar where it belonged. He was aching to pour himself another drink, but what good would that really do. All it would do is serve to let her see just how much she'd gotten under his skin.

After a long pause, Amanda nervously and in a softer tone asked, "What are you talking about?"

Lee laughed sardonically. Deciding he needed that drink after all, he quickly poured it, slammed the bottle down on the bar and turned around to face her. "You forget already? Leslie…I was supposed to go to the Soviet Embassy party with her and instead I went out with you!" He took a swig of his drink. "God, it's so funny. I was finally ready to date a real woman and there was Leslie, everything I should have wanted and I didn't want her. All I could think about was you! I even called her by your damn name! That's when I knew I couldn't be with anyone but you!" He took another drink. "But you…You obviously didn't feel the same way about me! Not if you can just jump into bed with another guy! Here I am, busting my ass to prove to you that you're the one I want and what do you do? You ditch me to sleep with him!"

"You know what I think this is? You're mad because it wasn't you I was with! But here's a news flash! I had no idea that you were even thinking of me in that way! Where was that kind of feeling BEFORE all this happened? You never said a word! If you had, I might never have wanted to sleep with anyone else!"

"Oh, so now you're blaming me for you being a-" He stopped himself before he could go too far. In his frustration, he flung the glass of scotch at the fireplace. At seeing her startled look when it shattered, he couldn't face her anymore and turned away from her, gripping the edge of the bar tightly.

"Being a what?" She challenged him once she got her bearings again.

"Nothing," he answered without turning to look at her.

"No, out with it," Amanda demanded.

"Being a-" As angry as he was, he couldn't say it. "B-b-being different than I thought you were...then turning around and blaming it on me."

"Look, I'm not blaming you, okay? I blame myself and from the moment it happened, I wished it hadn't. I have been killing myself with guilt over this!"

Finally pivoting to face her again, he replied with a nod, "Good, you should be."

At his last comment, her anger flared all over again. "WHY? Why should I feel guilty? I'm single. I don't owe YOU anything or anyone else for that matter! It's not like this is my first time at bat!"

"Big deal. So, you've slept with one guy before last night."

Amanda laughed dryly. "One?"

Lee gave her a confused look."More than one?" When she was silent and simply gaped at him with a mocking expression, he questioned in a state of utter befuddlement, "Who else have you slept with?"

Instead of answering, she fired back, "Why don't we talk about your resume' for a minute, Mr. Four-Black-Books?"

"Now hold on just a minute!" He responded as he edged closer to her.

"That's the whole problem here, isn't it? You...me...we've been in a holding pattern...without any holding..." She gave him a challenging look.

Unable to resist any longer with the bold, daring look she was giving him, he reached for her and in one, smooth move, pulled her roughly to him and captured her mouth with his own and in a fiery melding of tongues and lips, they gripped one another tightly. Grinding his hips against her, he pressed her into the back of the sofa and delighted in the low moans of pleasure coming from her. He moved to rain kisses along her cheek and her jaw and moved to her neck, pulling her collar aside, but stopped abruptly.

"I...uh...I can't do this." He nodded to the spot on her neck where the other man had left his brand on her. He felt as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him. "I just can't."

Amanda knowing what has stopped him, tugged at her collar and sputtered, "I-I should go."

Lee let out a sigh. "NO."

"No?" She questioned hopefully

"You can't let your kids see you like this. You should stay here."

"Stay here?" She eyed him warily.

"To sleep, I mean; sleep it off," he added quickly. "I'll just go find you something to sleep in."

As he walked away, he muttered, "The boring art historian gets all the way home and I can't get off first."

"I was giving you the sign to try to steal second, but you were to chicken to go for it. You're just as stubborn as some of my Little Leaguers."

Lee turned on her in surprise. "You heard that?"

Amanda grinned. "I'm a mother. I hear everything." Lee started to walk away again and she added, "If you ever hope to get past second, you'd just better not come back with that 'she' robe."

Lee laughed, but as he walked away, that thought combined with the crack she'd made about four black books had really struck a nerve. What right did he have to make judgments on her given the state of his reputation; his past. It was his own fault after all for seeing her through rose-colored glasses; putting her on a pedestal that she didn't belong on. Was it her fault that the false image he'd created of her had shattered? These thoughts plagued him as he rummaged through his dresser to find a tee and sweatpants for her to sleep in and he couldn't help wondering if they'd be able to get past this; if a time would come when he wouldn't have to find something for her to sleep in because she'd be prepared to spend the night with him. But was it something he could handle? Did he still even want that with her now? Only time would tell.

He returned to the living room to find she was not there. "Amanda?" he called and a wave of relief flooded through him when he saw her emerge from the kitchen.

"I was just making a pot of coffee for us," she explained. "I figured we could both use it. It should be ready in a few minutes."

Lee nodded. "Smart thinking." He handed her the clothes he'd brought for her. "So, why don't you go change and I'll finish it up?"

"Smart thinking," she echoed his words.

A short while later, the pair sat on the couch side by side sipping at their coffee in silence both afraid to break the tenuous truce that had formed.

"Amanda," Lee began needing to get his thoughts out.

"Yes?"

"With...um...us...you and me. Was it really not clear what my intentions were; that I was trying to romance you?"

"No, Lee, it really wasn't. Like that night you were supposed to go to the embassy with Leslie, you never said you broke up with her or in any way implied that our dinner was a date. And in the dinners we've had since then, there's never been a good night kiss or a plan for another date, it's always something spur-of-the-moment at the office, what-are-you-doing-tonight kind of stuff."

"I-I...Um...I was doing that stuff to make you feel comfortable. I know you know my reputation and I didn't want you to think that I was just being an animal. I wanted you to know that I was willing to take things slow for you."

Amanda laughed. "If you weren't too afraid of getting hit by the ball to take a good swing at it, you could have made it home by now."

"Then what about Chamberlain?"

"He _wasn't_ afraid."

"Amanda, come on!" Lee's voice took on a pleading, desperate quality. He needed to know where he'd gone wrong and Chamberlain hadn't.

Amanda explained very simply, "Look, the thing is, I can't take it back, but I'm not really sure that I want to. I liked him and he liked me, but more importantly, he showed me that he liked me and I..." She let out a deep sigh. "I was lonely."

Lee was silent for a moment as he contemplated her words, looked straight at her for the first time that night and really saw her, then replied softly, "Well, I guess I'll just have to make sure that you're never lonely again."


End file.
